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ECAMI (Empresa de Comunicaciones, S.A.) is a renewable energy business based in Nicaragua, focusing on solar photovoltaics, wind power and hydroelectric system. [1]
ECAMI was founded in 1982 by Luis Lacayo Lacayo, to supply radio communications equipment in rural areas of Nicaragua where infrastructure had been destroyed during the prolonged civil conflict and revolution. Photovoltaics (PV) were the ideal way of powering this equipment, because there was no grid electricity. Many other opportunities for PV became apparent to Lacayo, like home lighting, battery charging, water pumping and refrigeration.
Over time, the provision of renewable energy systems became the main activity of ECAMI. [2]
ECAMI routinely supplies and installs solar-homes PV systems in rural areas. ECAMI designs and installs PV-powered mini-grids to provide power for homes, hotels, museums and planned health centers in small communities. Underground distribution systems connect all the users to the supply, with individual current limits to each facility. ECAMI installs PV supply systems for mobile phone masts, with considerable savings in fuel diesel.
In Managua, six hotels have been supplied with solar water heating systems by ECAMI. One with 50 m2 of panel area supplies 100 rooms each of which had previously required a 6 kW immersion heater, another with 16 m2 of panels supplies 40 rooms. About 150 domestic solar water heaters have also been installed.
ECAMI supplies and installs small wind turbines of between 400 W and 5 kW output, and can also install hydroelectric systems. [3]
Renewable energy systems installed by ECAMI have decreased the use of CO2 emitting fuels for more than 100,000 people in Nicaragua. ECAMI's systems provide longer hours of emergency service in health centers, the installations of water pumps that bring drinking water to distant communities, access to satellite internet, land irrigation, and longer and more efficient working hours.
ECAMI is a GVEP (Global Village Energy Partnership] partner. [4] Other memberships include International Solar Energy Society (ISES), ANPPER Nicaraguan Association of Renewable Energy Promoters and Products, and ANPPER Nicaraguan Association of Renewable Energy Promoters and Products. ECAMI has work agreements with similar foreign companies, including Curin Corporation (United States), Isratec (Guatemala) Energy and Systems (Canada).
On June 11, 2009, in London, Charles, Prince of Wales presented Max Lacayo the Ashden Energy Enterprise Award [5] for ECAMI's achievements, particularly for the installation of high-quality photovoltaic systems in rural and off-grid areas. The Ashden Awards are an internationally recognised yardstick for excellence in the field of sustainable energy.
Solar energy is radiant light and heat from the Sun that is harnessed using a range of technologies such as solar power to generate electricity, solar thermal energy, and solar architecture. It is an essential source of renewable energy, and its technologies are broadly characterized as either passive solar or active solar depending on how they capture and distribute solar energy or convert it into solar power. Active solar techniques include the use of photovoltaic systems, concentrated solar power, and solar water heating to harness the energy. Passive solar techniques include orienting a building to the Sun, selecting materials with favorable thermal mass or light-dispersing properties, and designing spaces that naturally circulate air.
Off-the-grid or off-grid is a characteristic of buildings and a lifestyle designed in an independent manner without reliance on one or more public utilities. The term "off-the-grid" traditionally refers to not being connected to the electrical grid, but can also include other utilities like water, gas, and sewer systems, and can scale from residential homes to small communities. Off-the-grid living allows for buildings and people to be self-sufficient, which is advantageous in isolated locations where normal utilities cannot reach and is attractive to those who want to reduce environmental impact and cost of living. Generally, an off-grid building must be able to supply energy and potable water for itself, as well as manage food, waste and wastewater.
Microgeneration is the small-scale production of heat or electric power from a "low carbon source," as an alternative or supplement to traditional centralized grid-connected power.
Many countries and territories have installed significant solar power capacity into their electrical grids to supplement or provide an alternative to conventional energy sources. Solar power plants use one of two technologies:
India's solar power installed capacity was 73.32 GWAC as of 31 December 2023.
For solar power, South Asia has the ideal combination of both high solar insolation and a high density of potential customers.
The developing nations of Africa are popular locations for the application of renewable energy technology. Currently, many nations already have small-scale solar, wind, and geothermal devices in operation providing energy to urban and rural populations. These types of energy production are especially useful in remote locations because of the excessive cost of transporting electricity from large-scale power plants. The applications of renewable energy technology has the potential to alleviate many of the problems that face Africans every day, especially if done in a sustainable manner that prioritizes human rights.
Solar power, also known as solar electricity, is the conversion of energy from sunlight into electricity, either directly using photovoltaics (PV) or indirectly using concentrated solar power. Solar panels use the photovoltaic effect to convert light into an electric current. Concentrated solar power systems use lenses or mirrors and solar tracking systems to focus a large area of sunlight to a hot spot, often to drive a steam turbine.
A photovoltaic system, also called a PV system or solar power system, is an electric power system designed to supply usable solar power by means of photovoltaics. It consists of an arrangement of several components, including solar panels to absorb and convert sunlight into electricity, a solar inverter to convert the output from direct to alternating current, as well as mounting, cabling, and other electrical accessories to set up a working system. It may also use a solar tracking system to improve the system's overall performance and include an integrated battery.
Historically, the main applications of solar energy technologies in Canada have been non-electric active solar system applications for space heating, water heating and drying crops and lumber. In 2001, there were more than 12,000 residential solar water heating systems and 300 commercial/ industrial solar hot water systems in use. These systems presently comprise a small fraction of Canada's energy use, but some government studies suggest they could make up as much as five percent of the country's energy needs by the year 2025.
Renewable energy in developing countries is an increasingly used alternative to fossil fuel energy, as these countries scale up their energy supplies and address energy poverty. Renewable energy technology was once seen as unaffordable for developing countries. However, since 2015, investment in non-hydro renewable energy has been higher in developing countries than in developed countries, and comprised 54% of global renewable energy investment in 2019. The International Energy Agency forecasts that renewable energy will provide the majority of energy supply growth through 2030 in Africa and Central and South America, and 42% of supply growth in China.
A grid-connected photovoltaic system, or grid-connected PV system is an electricity generating solar PV power system that is connected to the utility grid. A grid-connected PV system consists of solar panels, one or several inverters, a power conditioning unit and grid connection equipment. They range from small residential and commercial rooftop systems to large utility-scale solar power stations. When conditions are right, the grid-connected PV system supplies the excess power, beyond consumption by the connected load, to the utility grid.
Ladakh Renewable Energy Development Agency (LREDA) is a renewable energy initiative in Ladakh, a mountainous region of India. It has been called "the largest off-grid renewable energy project in the world."
Solar power in Mexico has the potential to produce vast amounts of energy. 70% of the country has an insolation of greater than 4.5 kWh/m2/day. Using 15% efficient photovoltaics, a square 25 km (16 mi) on each side in the state of Chihuahua or the Sonoran Desert could supply all of Mexico's electricity.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to solar energy:
Under its commitment to the EU renewable energy directive of 2009, France has a target of producing 23% of its total energy needs from renewable energy by 2020. This figure breaks down to renewable energy providing 33% of energy used in the heating and cooling sector, 27% of the electricity sector and 10.5% in the transport sector. By the end of 2014, 14.3% of France's total energy requirements came from renewable energy, a rise from 9.6% in 2005.
Most energy in Israel comes from fossil fuels. The country's total primary energy demand is significantly higher than its total primary energy production, relying heavily on imports to meet its energy needs. Total primary energy consumption was 304 TWh (1.037 quad) in 2016, or 26.2 million tonne of oil equivalent.
Jamaica's electricity sector is dominated by non-renewable generators that use petroleum products, primarily Bunker C fuel oil and automotive diesel which generated 93% of the annual output for 2014. There is a small contribution from a few small hydroelectric plants and a couple of wind farms, one of which, Wigton Wind Farm, contributes a very small amount despite being the largest wind farm in the Caribbean.
Renewable energy in South Africa is energy generated in South Africa from renewable resources, those that naturally replenish themselves—such as sunlight, wind, tides, waves, rain, biomass, and geothermal heat. Renewable energy focuses on four core areas: electricity generation, air and water heating/cooling, transportation, and rural energy services. The energy sector in South Africa is an important component of global energy regimes due to the country's innovation and advances in renewable energy. South Africa's greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is ranked as moderate and its per capita emission rate is higher than the global average. Energy demand within the country is expected to rise steadily and double by 2025.
Floating solar or floating photovoltaics (FPV), sometimes called floatovoltaics, are solar panels mounted on a structure that floats on a body of water, typically a reservoir or a lake such as drinking water reservoirs, quarry lakes, irrigation canals or remediation and tailing ponds. A growing number of such systems exist in China, France, Indonesia, India, Japan, South Korea, the United Kingdom, Singapore, and the United States.
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